Once a student bus driver at University of Virginia, Gary Graham is now winding down a 32-year run as the director of LSU’s Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation before he retires in early April.
When Graham arrived in 1982, the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation was different from how it is today, Graham said. Paid parking had only recently been implemented with a rate of $10 for a year for student parking. The office was looking for ways to improve safety around campus, but Graham said the most memorable issue of 1982 was the air conditioner being out.
Graham approached the job with the intention of making campus safer and easier to navigate.
Graham’s colleagues emphasized two systems employed under his direction: Easy Streets and Tiger Trails.
Easy Streets is a program comprised of infrastructural construction projects meant to make the campus safer for pedestrians to navigate.
Jeffrey Campbell, senior director of Administrative Services and Risk Management, said the Easy Streets project has vastly improved the operation of the campus. The first phase of Easy Streets closed off the center of campus, reducing traffic while increasing safety, Campbell said.
This change, now taken for granted, was a step forward from the time when campus was constantly congested with traffic, said Adam Smith, director of parking for University Athletics.
The contract for the Tiger Trails bus system, negotiated by Graham, has made transportation on campus more efficient, Smith said.
The system before Tiger Trails had far fewer off-campus bus stops for commuters, Smith said. This further reduced the amount of vehicles on campus, contributing to a safer walk to class.
These tweaks to the campus demonstrate Gary’s desire to make the University run smoothly, which he fulfills through collaboration with others, including the students themselves, Smith said.
Smith said Graham is open to the ideas of others, and he recalled his first interactions with Graham as a student working in the Ticket Office.
“We don’t have a monopoly on good ideas. Many ideas come from students,” Graham said, recalling meetings with Student Government regarding the Tiger Trails contract.
Smith said Graham’s knowledge eased much of the commotion on football game days where his careful control of parking stabilized the crowded environment. This quality of organization has “made it a lot easier for any department to have events.”
Campbell believes Graham’s legacy lies in his progressive view of the University. His contributions have made the University a safer, better-functioning place, Campbell said.
“I have no doubt that LSU will strive to be the best it can be,” Graham said.
Gary Graham, director of the Office of Parking and Transportation Services, is retiring in April 2014.
